This story… For a long time now, I’ve been teetering between 3.5 and 4 stars… but the more time passes, the more I think about it, the more I am on FOUR STARS.

First, this book is old. I think I bought it when I lived in Denver which was years and years and years ago. I had heard/read/seen that it was going to be a series. Typically, I love reading a series over a short period of time, all together, back to back. But no other books surfaced. And after some research, it seems now that this is a stand alone story. Which is why I’m just now getting to it.

In the beginning of this story, Emma is four and her baby brother, Mackie, tried to bite her. Her baby brother had just been replaced. All the same, Emma still grew up to constantly protect this person, whether he was true blood or not.

The story is from Mackie’s point of view. He and his family–a mother who seems insane and a father who is the town’s preacher, and Emma–all live in Gentry. This town for years has been turning a blind eye to the sacrifices made in order to keep a balance and peace among them.

But as Mackie is coming to find, that peace is far from what it really is.

The story started off confusing and quick. For me, anyway. But a few chapters in, it felt like I was up to speed and well on my way into this weird dark world that Gentry really is below the surface. There were enough supernatural elements to make it spark and shine. The YA elements balanced it out with a good dose of teen angst. And the mystery of the town and missing children was really the driving force for the tale to unfold.

The more I read, the more I came to love the story, the more I didn’t want it to end. The end was very satisfying. It felt like there was potential for more, but had really wrapped up the story in a neat package.

It wasn’t so spooky I had to stop reading. Which is good. It was tense in parts, though. So much uniqueness to this one…I loved it. Why there isn’t more baffles me. It a world rife with tales to be told.

Definitely worth a read if you want something different and not typical for the genre.

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